Lake Cerknica – Stržen under the bridge
When Lake Cerknica dries out, only the Stržen stream remains; at high water in spring the stream bed under the embankment bridge becomes an easy river-and-lake dive. The deepest point, about 4 m, is under the bridge, where there is a noticeable current that weakens quickly downstream, so the sheet recommends it for learning river diving. The sandy, muddy bed is covered with large rooted water plants that grade into dense vegetation and reeds in the shallows, home to snails, water fleas and caddis larvae in cases made of plant pieces.
Facts
- Region: Slovenia – Lakes, Rivers & Caves
- Area: Notranjska & Brkini (Cerknica, Postojna, Pivka)
- Depth: 0–4 m
- Level: beginner
- Current: moderate
- Type: channel, bay
- Coordinates: 45.76474, 14.36313
- Highlights: Stržen channel under the bridge (4 m), large rooted water plants and reed belt, snails, water fleas, caddis larvae in cases of plant fragments, annual Easter dive
- Tips: Legal status: the site lies in Notranjska Regional Park (Odlok o Notranjskem regijskem parku, Uradni list RS 75/2002) and in the Cerknica Lake wetland zone. Neither that decree nor the 2015 navigation decree for Lake Cerknica mentions diving or swimming (they ban motor craft, motor/electric model boats and changes to the sinkholes; boating is only allowed above set water levels). Whether the park manager (Javni zavod Notranjski regijski park) expects divers to notify it or get consent could not be confirmed; ask the park before diving. From Dolenje Jezero drive along the gravel road over the embankment and the Stržen bridge; park at the small gravel car park at the end of the embankment below Gorica hill. Kit up there; easy entry/exit on both sides of the embankment, keeping to the firmer cart tracks. You can pass under the bridge against the current by holding onto rocks. Study the map beforehand and use a compass. Best at high water in March–April; water 3–15 °C; no night dives (difficult navigation). The SPZ sheet dates from 2012; river gravel, banks and access roads may have changed since.